2018 Annual Report

Thanks to you—our faithful land conservation supporter—significant lands throughout western Massachusetts are now permanently conserved. With your help, the Franklin Land Trust closed out our 31st year with the completion of 11 new projects, permanently protecting 1,032 acres in 2018. Because of you, FLT has helped to conserve a total of 32,000 acres of forests, farms and waterways over the last 32 years. We tip our hats to you!

We are thrilled to have two new conservation areas where you can go to hike, picnic, fish, or hunt.

The Nan Williams Conservation Area in Rowe and the Meadow Brook Conservation Area in Plainfield and Cummington will offer spectacular opportunities for you to get out and enjoy nature. These lands are home to important habitat for plants and wildlife, which will be protected and managed under the stewardship of FLT.

With your support, we added 4 new conservation restrictions on 250 acres of land in Colrain, Leverett, and Plainfield. The conserved lands remain privately owned and managed by farmers, families, and individuals, but will forever remain in their natural condition thanks to these restrictions.

Partnering with other land trusts and state agencies continued to be an essential strategy to permanently conserve the critical lands that will provide fresh food, healthy habitat for wildlife, and clean water – forever.

We worked with the MA Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) Program, the MA Division of Fish and Wildlife, and the South Deerfield Water Supply District to protect 120 acres of farmland, 475 acres of wildlife habitat, and 65 acres of water supply lands.

We also worked hard to share our love of the land with you.

We organized and hosted 16 events that engaged 1,987 people in educational programs, volunteer opportunities, and outdoor recreation.

Your participation, whether attending a workshop on wildlife cameras or estate planning, riding the D2R2, volunteering your time to help us plant for pollinators or monitor conservation restrictions, or simply going for a walk with us on beautiful conserved lands, inspires us to work harder to protect the lands we all love.

Thanks to you — our amazing members — we raised $900,000 through the donations of 1,200 individuals and families, which directly resulted in the projects below coming to fruition.